Glass block closure



Sept. 13, 1938.

H. I. FOGELBERG GLASS BLOCK CLOSURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. '5, 1937 Aiiorney Sept. 13, 1938. H. l. FOGELBERG n GLASS BLOCK CLOSURE Filed Aug. 5, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l li ll/Ill,

Y 4%Z0771 ey Patented Sept. 13, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

The present invention relates to a pivoted closure for glass block building structures.

At present, in the making of glass block buildings, it is customary to use metal door and window frames with conventional doors and windows mounted therein. This construction, in addition to being comparatively expensive, is not in architectural harmony with the remainder of the building and in addition requires maintenance, such as painting, to prevent rust.

An object of the present invention is to make an improved closure for glass block buildings.

Another object is to make a frameless closure construction for glass block buildings.

In order to attain these objects there is provided, in accordance with one feature of the invention a door or window opening having the edges of the blocks surrounding the opening moulded to conform to the edges of a closure member to be mounted therein. A door or window closure member is formed of glass blocks of a design to harmonize with the remainder of the structure and having the edges thereof moulded to have co-operating engagement with the edges of the opening provided therefor.

These and other features of the invention will he more fully set forth in the following description and in the accompanying drawings, wherein,

Figure l is a view in side elevation of a fragment of a glass block wall having a window mounted in a window opening in accordance with the present invention,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view as on the line 2--2 of Figure 1 the entire lower block member being, however, shown in full.

Figure 3 is a sectional view as on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through a modified form of pivot.

Figure 5 is a view in front elevation of a fragment of a wall structure having a window member embodying the present invention mounted in window opening in said wall.

Figure 6 is a sectional view on the line 65 of the structure shown in Figure 5,

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view in edge elevation of a glass block unit for a Window.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal, transverse, sectional view through the block shown in Figure '7,

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 99 of Figure 5, a center portion thereof being broken away to permit increasing the scale of the drawings,

Figure 10 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on the line ill-l of Figure 5, a. portion of the left hand thereof being extended beyond the point illustrated in Figure to show a method of joining adjacent blocks in a wall structure.

Figure 11 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a sealing strip, and

Figure 12 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a pair of sealing strips.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the walls of a building are constructed of conventional glass blocks l, which are hollow, and the central cavity of each block is under reduced pressure constituting a. partial vacuum. These blocks are made in a conventional manner which at present constitutes moulding two halves and adhesively securing them together by suitable adhesive, although the method of producing the blocks is immaterial to the present invention.

A window opening 2 has blocks 3 and 4 adjacent to the opening formed as shown in Figures 9 and 10 with a flange 5 provided on one edge thereof to project into the window opening. The inner face of the flange 5 is curved on a circular arc, the center of curvature of which is concentric with a pivot member to be described later in the specification. The other half of the edge of the block than that having the flange projection 5 is preferably substantially flat, and is perpendicular to the side faces of the block as at 8.

A sill 9 is cast of suitable cementitious mate" rial across the lower end of the window opening to have the inner face thereof flush with the inside surface of the wall. An insulating strip Hi of cork or other suitable material is mounted on the outer side of the sill 9 to have the outer face thereof flush with the outside surface of the wall. A cork strip H (see Figures 2 and 3) is mounted to extend upwardly from the outer sill facing strip ill, the ends of the cork strip being curved around to the inner side of the sill in a semicircle as illustrated in Figure 3. A second insulating strip i2 extends along the upper edge of the inner side of the sill to provide an additional weather tight seal. A socket for receiving a window pivot is set in the sill and comprises a cupped metal member it having a flanged extension it around the upper end thereof. A ball bearing I5 is mounted in the lower end of the member i3 and and a second ball bearing I6 is mounted in the flanged extension 14.

The head of the window opening (see Figures 1, 2, and 5) is reinforced with an angle iron brace I! having a laterally extending flange i8 mounted to support the course of blocks above the window opening. This angle iron support member preferably extends about six inches beyond the window opening, as illustrated in Figure l and is fixedly secured, as by welding, to a main angle iron support member l9 which extends entirely across the building and comprises one of the structural building members but has no further relation to the present invention. A top or head pivot 20 is fixedly secured to the angle iron member 1 to extend downwardly therefrom.

A window member 2! is here illustrated as composed of three glass blocks 22, 23, and 24 which are preferably slightly shorter than the blocks comprising the wall proper. These blocks are preferably of the same thickness as the wall blocks and are provided with rounded edges 25 and 26 (see Figure 9). on a circular arc, the center of curvature of which is the center of a pivot receiving recess 2'! (see Figure 8) one of which is provided in the top and bottom respectively of each of the blocks comprising the window 2!, A flange 28 is provided to extend downwardly from the lower end (see Figures '7 and 8). This flange extends entirely along one side of the block and half way around the curved edges thereof. A'pair of recesses 30 and 3| are provided at the top and bottom, respectively, of each edge of each block to receive metal connecting rods 32 (see Figure 10) which are affixed in position by means of a suitable cement when assembling the blocks to form the window. The space between vertically adjacent blocks in the window is filled with cement 33 (see Figures 1 and 2) and a pair of cork sealing strips 34 and 35 are provided to retain the cement in position while soft and to provide a Weather tight seal.

A pivot bearing cup 36 is aflixed in position in the top recess 2'! of the upper block to pivotally receive the pivot pin 20 carried by the angle iron support member IT. A pivot member 3'! is mounted in the recess 21 in the lower end of the lower block 22 (see Figures 1 and 2) and has a post portion 38 adapted to enter the socket l3 and ride on the lower ball bearing and is provided with an enlarged upper portion to ride on the ball bearing iii.

A groove 39 is provided (see Figures and 12) longitudinally of the edge of the blocks adjacent their pivotal mounting and a strip 40 of weather stripping is adhesively secured in this groove to extend the entire length of the window. This strip 4!] is of rubber and is provided with a metal shoe ll of bronze or other suitable metal to permit frictional movement upon opening the window.

A pair of similar weather strip members 42 and 53 are mounted in grooves on the inner face of each of the flanges 5 of the wall blocks on each side of the window opening. A pair of mod ified weather strip members M and 45 are also mounted at the center of each of the blocks 3 and A respectively (see Figure 11).

A casement type lock it (see Figures 5, 6, and 9) is mounted on a metal mounting strip 41, with metal tongues 48 and 19 of sheet metal secured to the mounting strip 41 adapted to be inserted between vertically adjacent blocks of the closure member to be held by the cement filling these inter-block spaces as shown in Figure 6.

The upper and lower ends, respectively, of the strip 41! are bent outwardly at right angles and are provided with openings to slidably receive locking rods 59 and 5! which are connected to a handle lever 52 in a well known manner to be op- These edges are curved erated in opposite directions by a rotation of the handle lever, A pair of locking plates 53 and 54 are provided to receive the ends of the rods 50 and 5|. The upper locking plate 53 is secured to the angle iron I! and the lower locking plate 54 is here shown as being set in the cement forming the sill 9.

A modified form of pivot is illustrated in Figure 4. Instead of the metal pivot member 31 a glass lug 56 is cast integrally with the lower window block 22. A drawn metal cup 51 is provided over the lug 56 and is preferably cemented thereto. A sealing washer 58 is provided between a laterally extending fiange of the cup 5'! and the block 22. A cup 59 is set in the cement forming the sill 9 and from this cup a drain outlet 60 is provided to remove any moisture which might collect in the cup 51. A pivotal fit is provided between the member 5'! and the member 59.

While the closure member is here illustrated and described as used for a window it is apparent to those versed in the art that the same invention can be employed for use as a door.

Various modifications of the pivot supports and lockingmeans can be readily devised by any skilled mechanic and while the present embodiment is necessarily installed during the construction of the wall, modifications of the mounting hardware can be employed if desired to permit removal of the closure member.

The device comprises a simple, enduring and trouble-free closure member, in perfect architectural harmony with the building in which is mounted, and is as weather tight as the remainder of the wall, which is of great value in an air conditioned building.

I claim:

1. Aframeless closure structure for a glass block building comprising in combination with a wall constructed of glass blocks and having an opening therein, the glass blocks on each side of said opening having the edges thereof formed to coincide with the edges of a closure member, and a glass block closure member composed of a plurality of superposed glass blocks fixedly secured to each other to form a closure unit, the edges of said glass blocks being formed to coincide with the edges of said wall blocks on each side of said window opening, and mounting means mounted to pivotally support said closure member in said opening to have an open and a closed position therein.

2. A closure structure for a glass block building comprising in combination with a wall constructed of glass blocks and having an opening therein, a closure member composed of a plurality of glass blocks integrally secured to each other, the exposed edges of the blocks forming said closure member being formed to coincide with the edges of said wall blocks on each side of said window opening, and mounting means connected to said closure member and to the wall structure adjacent said opening to mount said closure member for swinging movement from a closed position within said opening to an open position.

3. A closure for a glass block building, comprising in combination with a glass block wall having an opening therein, a flange carried by the wall blocks on each side of said opening, said flange having an arcuately curved edge portion, pivot elements mounted in the top and bottom respectively, of said opening concentrically with the curve of the arcuate portion of said flange, and a glass block closure member pivotally mounted on said pivot elements to have an open and a closed position and. having an edge portion curved to fit the arcuate portion of said flange when said closure member is in a closed position.

4. A glass block for a composite closure member having a pivot receiving recess on the top and bottom thereof respectively and having an edge thereof curved concentrically With a line of pivotal movement of said closure element, the top and bottom of said block being similarly formed to provide either the top or bottom edge respectively of a composite closure member, the top edge of each block being adapted to be rigidly secured to the bottom edge of a similar block positioned vertically adjacent thereto.

5. A glass block for a composite closure memher having pivoting means provided on the top and bottom thereof respectively and having an edge thereof curved concentrically with a line of pivotal movement of said closure element, the top and bottom of said block being similarly formed to provide either the top or bottom edge respectively of a composite closure member, the top edge of each block being adapted to be rigidly secured to the bottom edge of a similar block positioned vertically adjacent thereto, said block having a recess in an edge thereof adapted to receive a reenforcing member extending beyond an end of said block, and adapted to enter a similar recess in an adjoining block to provide interlocking connection between said blocks.

HERBERT I. FOGELBERG. 

